ROBBINSDALE, MN (December 4, 2001) – Funeral services for retired Covenant pastor Willard LeRoy Berggren will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Karmel Evangelical Covenant Church in Princeton, Minnesota. Pastor Darren Olson will officiate.
Berggren, 74, died Sunday from congestive heart failure at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.
Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday at Williams-Hanson-Kaun Funeral Home in Princeton. A prayer service at 6:30 p.m. will be part of the visitation. Those attending the prayer service will be offered an opportunity to share reflections and memories. Individuals unable to attend who would like comments shared during this time may email their messages to Olson at karmelcov@sherbtel.net or deliver them to the church.
Berggren was born December 14, 1926, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and grew up at Bethany Covenant Church. He was a World War II veteran, receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1945 after being stationed in the Pacific Theater. He was most proud of his military service, said Olson, who said he enjoyed listening to stories during the years he knew Berggren. After spending two years at North Park Junior College, Berggren finished his undergraduate education at Roosevelt University in the Chicago area in 1957.
Berggren assumed his first pastorate in 1959 at South Park Covenant Church in Rockford, Illinois, and stayed there until 1966. While at South Park Covenant, Berggren earned his Master of Divinity degree from North Park Theological Seminary in 1962 and was ordained by the Evangelical Covenant Church the following year.
He served as pastor of Mt. Washington Covenant Church in Jonesville, Virginia, from 1966 to 1972. He then served three years as pastor of Community Covenant Church in Minneapolis and another 15 years as pastor of Elim Covenant Church in St. Paul before retiring in 1991. While in the Twin Cities, Berggren served as a police chaplain, as chaplain at Bethany Covenant Home in Minneapolis and was active on local camp boards.
Following his retirement, Berggren served interim pastorates at Karmel Covenant and Harris Covenant Church in Harris.
Berggren was especially aware of how important visitation was in ministry, Olson said. The pastor noted that at the time of his death, Berggren had drafted a list of upcoming meetings and was preparing a sermon he was scheduled to deliver at Community Covenant Church in nearby Big Lake on Sunday morning. He was hospitalized early Sunday morning and died that evening.
“He was one of the most beloved people in town,” said Olson. “He never stopped ministering, even though he was retired. He was an amazing man and if you could duplicate him the world would be a lot better place.”
Berggren is survived by his wife, Dorothea, whom he married in 1952, and by four children: Carol Holm, Barbara Brown, Lowell Berggren and Virginia Kennedy.
For more information concerning funeral arrangements, call Olson at 763-389-3169. Directions for the funeral home can be obtained by calling Williams-Hanson-Kaun Funeral Home at 763-389-1131.
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